Category: Insight

Etisalat, Singtel, SoftBank and Telefónica have teamed up to form the Global Cyber Security Alliance, patrolling the shadowy information highway to protect innocent punters from the evils of Malwareman and Dastardly DDoS.

By pooling resources the new crime-fighting cohorts hope to address one of the biggest challenges in the industry; underinvestment and underappreciation. The new alliance will have more than 1.2 billion customers in 60 countries, 20 Security Operation Centres and more than 6,000 security professionals. Crime won’t stand a chance.

Security is one of those topics which constantly gets mentioned, though prioritization seems to be an issue. This is true for both buyers and sellers, as there are simply more interesting revenue generating or efficiency increasing areas which attract the attention. Looking at it purely from a commercial perspective, security won’t make positive impacts on the accountants spreadsheets therefore is not considered a priority. Some might call this a cynical view on the industry, but we think it is simply realistic.

“With digital technologies gaining widespread adoption and driving innovation across industry verticals, the security landscape has evolved. Organizations now face a new breed of threats and need to manage digital risks in their environments. Today’s strategic alliance will give us a unique opportunity to work hand in hand with our telecom counterparts and deliver innovative security services for digital risk management.”

Francisco Salcedo, SVP at Etisalat Digital

“We need swift and coordinated global responses to defend enterprises that operate across transnational borders as cyber threats are increasing in frequency, scale and sophistication. Singtel and its US-based subsidiary Trustwave are both well-established security leaders across the Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. The group’s resources, combined with those of its alliance partners, will provide a robust cyber security platform to protect our global customers, allowing them to thrive in the digital economy.”

Art Wong, CEO of Global Cyber Security at Singtel

“Hackers have well-established and organized communities where they cooperate to produce cyber threats – it’s time that the world’s largest network of operators formed a global alliance to strengthen our defence against these attacks. SoftBank is excited to join the initial alliance partners including Singtel, Telefonica and Etisalat, to offer enhanced security to our customers and advance our cyber defence.”

Andrew Schwabecher, Head of the Cloud & Cyber Security Division at SoftBank

“The Security Alliance will help all its members to deliver disruptive innovation to secure our customers’ digital lives. For Telefónica, it’s a major step ahead in complementing our ability to develop as an intelligent Managed Security Service Provider and to continue to deliver outstanding growth.”

One of the big problems facing security is the complexity of the task. Hackers and nefarious actors are becoming increasingly complex, with new types of threats emerging every single day. This is where such an alliance, with an incredibly large pool of customers becomes an interesting idea. If a new threat is detected on one customers network, it can be identified and nullified, before the insight is passed through the rest of the alliance. Scale and the sharing of insight allows new threats to be minimized.

The attitude towards security is perhaps the biggest challenge organizations are facing today. Most companies will try to keep any breaches or hacks as quiet as possible, however this means the threat is still potent. Should there be greater transparency when an attack has occurred, security parameters can be adapted to ensure potential vulnerabilities are addressed. While this idea of transparency might be unrealistic in a world which is dictated by share price, the alliance means knowledge can be disseminated without executives worrying about huge backlash in the public domain.

Cyber criminals beware, your days are numbered as the wheezy crime fighting alliance of telcos is on your tail, just let them finish this round of Dungeons and Dragons.